Ko Pha Ngan:

January 19th, 2005 - January 26th, 2005

Greetings...

Well, the chaos of India is behind us and Thailand has been all downhill. Following a wonderful time in Bangkok and area we boarded a plane to Ko Samui in the south. Unlike India the plane took off at the scheduled time. Unlike India our bags were not x-rayed multiple times. Unlike India, we were not patted down multiple times by several people despite not setting off the metal detector! Ahhh, we were in bliss.

The airport was clean. The bathroom had been sanitized this decade. People even left us alone in the waiting lounge and no one demanded money for no apparent reason.

We landed in KO Samui early... the landing was enhanced by aquamarine coloured waters and white sand beaches. The airport was a beautiful outdoor series of huts - hey, it doesn't rain in paradise! Our bags came quickly and we boarded a bus to the pier to take a boat to KO PHA Ngan (an island off this island). We left the airport at 12:50 pm and it seemed unlikely we would make the 1pm boat (and would thus have to wait around till 4pm). But, when we arrived at the pier the boat was still there. With "Amazing Race" style, Jess helped unload the bags while I bought the tickets. We made the run down the pier and were the last two to jump on the boat. Had this actually been the Amazing Race (a TV show for those who don't know), we would have won. The others on our bus all ran to buy tickets but no one told the guy which bags to take down, so ours were the only ones that came down fast enough! Unlike India, things were perfect!

The boat ride across was a nice 45 minute sail and upon arrival we took a co-op (shared) taxi to our bungalow. Hat Rin (the main town) is pretty much all foreigners or "Farangs" as the locals say. It is a mix of full time or career backpackers and wannabe hippies who really lack the hippie ideal by the rude manner in which they treat the locals. It is a strange subculture, but interesting nonetheless.

We had a bite to eat beach side on our resort which was on Leela Beach, just a 10-minute walk from the famous beaches of Had Rin where the monthly full moon parties take place.

The only thing slowing us down was the slight fever that began to develop in my body at some point during the day's journey.

After eating and checking into our lovely ocean-view bungalow, I began to feel more ill. I passed out around 5pm and didn't wake until the middle of the night when my fever had reached around 104 degrees Fahrenheit. I made it to the morning in the fan cooled room, but I wasn't getting any better. By noon we had paid nearly double the price of the room to have them turn the A/C on to help cool me down. It didn't work and I had not eaten since we arrived. By 5pm I was the resort's truck and on the way to the town's clinic.

The clinic is right next to the pier, in the heart of town. There is a receptionist, a doctor and a nurse along with 6 beds divided between two rooms. The doctor immediately put me into a bed and said I had to stay. They were worried about a host of insect born diseases and needed to do blood tests. The only problem was, they would not be able to do them till the morning because there were no more ferries to KO Samui to take the blood (ahh, the life in a deserted paradise).

The nurse was in Samui with a patient so the doctor tried to put an I.V. needle into me. He missed! In an effort to save face (a big thing with the Thai's) he apologized and said we had to wait for the nurse. An hour later she arrived. She missed with her first try as well! So on they went to my right hand. Success. They finally had the I.V. up and running.

The next 4 hours were uneventful until about midnight when four people arrived - 3 Germans and a Thai. The one German was in pain with a fever. Suffering exactly what I had. They apologized for the noise, but it wasn't a big deal. It was nice to have some company. We also sorted of bonded, lying there in the same situation, in a strange land, in a strange hospital, being poked and needled by people who's English consisted of "Too much Pain?" and "I make you better, don't worry."

The night was awful. My fever came and left and came back again. My throat swelled to the point where I could hardly swallow. The poor nurse was sleeping in the waiting room and would wake for every time we needed help. She would also inject antibiotics into our IV's every few hours.

Through conversation, I found out that Lucas (the other sick guy) was visiting his brother who moved to the island to make and sell jewelry. I promised to visit the store when (if) we made it out of there.

The early morning was not without problems. My I.V. stopped working and after the nurse trying to get it working the pain was too much so I had her just take it out. I was tired of needles. Of course, they still had to put another one in me to take blood that was sent on the first boat to KO Samui... and then twice more I was given injections of antibiotics for a total of 6 needles in a 24-hour period!

By midmorning we were both feeling better and our "families" had come back for us. Jess had been running back and forth to the resort and calling the insurance people back home. The hospital food was ordered from a local restaurant which was a nice way to rejoin the eating world.

By mid-afternoon the blood tests came back for Lucas and I. Neither of us had Malaria or Dengue Fever or Typhoid Fever. I wasn't too worried about Malaria (we are taking pills) or Typhoid (we were vaccinated prior to departure) but Dengue was a bit of a worry. By 3pm we had been discharged (and also handed a bill of 18,100 Bhat or $600+ CDN). Thank God for that CAA insurance!!!

I spent the night and the next day recovering at the resort; half of our vacation from our vacation gone. But I had my health back and that was all that mattered.

Today, about 4 days later, I finally feel better again.

Last night, I stayed true to my word, and Jess and I endured a 45-minute trip (each way) up island to visit Lucas and his brother Daniel to see their jewelry store. They make these great pieces (necklaces, rings, bracelets) out of stones called "Shiva Eye". They are created by shells in the ocean and recovered by divers before being refined into jewelry. Jess ended up with a ring and two bracelets and I got a necklace. The stuff is fantastic. You can see it at www.shivaeye.com ... It is all made locally by Daniel and his girlfriend in their house/studio on the island.

Today we continued to explore the Island a bit and took a group boat trip through one of the bars. It was the Magic Reggae Boat Tour or something like that. It should have been called "Waste your money and almost die in the process" trip. They crammed us into a pair of long tail boats and drove us up island for nearly an hour sans life jackets. They then dumped those who wanted to snorkel into the murkiest water I have ever seen for snorkeling (we declined). We were then dumped at some restaurant for a free lunch of fried rice before getting back into the long tail boats to go to some other island.

Meanwhile, the ocean was getting rough and the waves bigger and the skies darker (maybe it does rain in paradise). They continued to take us to crappy beaches not on the itinerary and skip out on the good stuff (like waterfalls and nice beaches). The last hour of the trip home was a nightmare. Our tiny boat of 28 people (made for only 16) was being thrown around the ocean by massive waves as storm clouds brewed. We were getting soaked including our bags full of cameras and crap. I was sure we were going to sink... but alas we made it and got off that death machine (and warned everyone we saw not to take that trip).

So ends this installment of life in paradise. What would an adventure be without a real adventure!!! Tomorrow night is the Full Moon Party and this place is supposed to be ragin' ... we'll see. We are close enough to join in, but far enough away to escape the chaos if we so choose.

Our time here on Ko Pha Ngan has come to an end. We got to experience the "famous" Full Moon Party last night. It has probably varied greatly from its original form. With the Thai crackdown on drug use the party has become less of a rave-like trance and more a drunken mess where children's pails are sold with a mickey of alcohol (ranging from cheap Thai Whiskey to Bacardi Rum), a can of pop, and a straw.

There was a similar feeling to a soccer match at one point with British-style hooligans running down the street yelling and swearing and being belligerent to anything and everything in sight. One guy tried to walk through the flame of the fire dancers... another guy stood naked in the sea wading further and further out...

Speaking of the sea, most people used it as a toilet. And the sea also claimed 7 lives at last word when a speedboat (not much different from the one we were on the other day) sunk around 5 am when shuttling passengers back to KO Samui - it should be noted that about 50 people were on a boat meant for 30 people!

So, it is with mixed emotions we leave this island paradise. I will miss the people - especially the taxi driver that chased us for 2 blocks and onto the beach to find us to tell us that he would agree to our price of 500 Bhat (return) to take us up-island to our friend the jeweler the other day! And the nice ladies who run our bungalow resort who cut real aloe leaves for us each to soothe our sunburns. And of course, the restaurants that show American movies while you eat - most off bootlegged copies of films that have yet to be released on video! Ahhh, Thailand - where Copyright means the right to copy...

We have a long journey ahead of us in the morning... we have an hour-long taxi ride to the island's main city of Thong Sala. From there we take a boat to Surat Thani which is back on the mainland of southern Thailand. Then we board a bus and head 110 km inland to Khao Sok National Park. There we will be staying in Tree house-like accommodation for a few days where we can trek and enjoy waterfalls and other wildlife.

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